Anchor General Insurance Review

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Anchor General Insurance offers high-risk auto insurance to residents of Texas, Arizona, Washington, Oregon and California with plans to expand into additional states. As a non-standard insurer, its primary market is drivers who may not otherwise qualify for coverage from a standard policy due to a poor driving record.

It also offers the ability to get a policy immediately online for those who need to fill out an SR-22 (proof of insurance form) to get their drivers licenses reinstated. This is common for non-standard insurance companies, making the term “SR-22 insurance” popular for referring to this and other insurers in the niche.

The company is headquartered in San Diego and sells its products through dedicated agencies in each state where policies are issued. Altogether the company employs over 70 people, and handles all of its claims in-house rather than hiring adjusters or outside claims staff.

Anchor General markets its products primarily through its agencies (like Anchor General Insurance Agency), with very little information on its website addressed toward potential customers. Much of the site is hidden behind a password for members only, and the main purpose of the site seems to be geared more toward collecting payments than establishing new business.

Insurance Products

Auto Insurance

Anchor General sells auto insurance, but the does not offer any information about their policies. This seems to be customary with low cost, high risk insurers where their target market is more concerned about getting insurance coverage than what bells and whistles come with the policy. In general, high-risk insurance companies tend to provide bare-bones policies designed to meet the state’s minimum legal requirements to drivers whom by other standards are simply uninsurable.

Anchor General Rates

Anchor General’s website claims that it offers competitive rates, however, the user is unable to obtain a quote on the website. There is no listing for agencies, and there is not a clearly marked customer service line to call for this information. The customer service/underwriting phone number, 800-542-6246, is a general office number that leads to an agency open between 7am to 6pm Monday through Friday.

While high-risk insurers tend to claim they have competitive pricing, what they generally mean is compared to other non-standard insurance carriers. High-risk drivers cost more to insure, so their prices are going to be quite a bit higher than a standard insurance carrier. This is just the nature of the beast when dealing with high-risk insurance.

Claims

The claims phone number listed on the website is inaccurate; when you call it, it directs you to call 888-308-7900.

Note that this line is available during business hours, Monday through Friday from 7am to 6pm; if you call outside of those hours, you’ll be directed to an answering service that will take down rudimentary information and direct you to contact the company again during business hours.

Consumer Research and Complaints

Although not accredited, the Better Business Bureau gives the company an “A” rating, listing 70 complaints, 22 of which have been closed in the last 12 months.

The popular site Yelp gives the company an overall rating 1 out of 5 stars. The website shows 236 reviews, most of which are negative.

Common complaints levied against the company are long claim handling times, poor customer service and an overall lack of communication.

It’s also worth noting that the California Department of Insurance launched an official investigation into the company’s claim handling back in 2005 in response to the high volume of complaints against the company. More information about this investigation can be found here.

Financial Strength

Rating Company

Grade

Financial Outlook

AM Best

B+

Stable

Fitch

N/A

N/A

S&P

N/A

N/A

Bottom Line

Non-standard auto insurance companies frequently receive bad reviews from customers who simply don’t understand what they’re signing up for. In the case of Anchor General, though, many reviews tend to hint towards a greater issue specific to them. The company’s small size appears to have crippled its customer service. Offering a poorly designed website with an unclear indication of how to contact an agent and a small in-house claims service, the company simply does not seem able to meet the needs of their customers.

If you require high-risk auto insurance there are other companies that, in our opinion, will be more responsive.

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Review Information

Summary

Reviewer

Eric Stauffer

Review Date

2017-06-06

Reviewed

Anchor General

Author Rating

1

About Eric Stauffer

I am a former insurance agent and banker turned consumer advocate. My priority is to help educate individuals and families about the different types of insurance they need, and assist them in finding the best place to get it.

Reader Interactions

Comments

Ok, My mother (76 years old) was hit by a man that has Anchor General insurance. She filed a claim on January 18, 2017. It is now December 8, 2017, and they still have not settled the claim. I asked her in September if she ever got her money for her car and she said she was waiting for the check. I called and they had never sent anyone to assess the damage, they finally did after another month. On October 27 they sent us a letter saying they were sending the check. The check never came! Then I called and they said they had sent it and it got lost in the mail, funny how the letter found my mailbox just fine! Then they want me to sign an affidavit saying I don’t have the check, and fax or email it back to them, ok a 76-year-old woman doesn’t have email or a fax machine! Let’s make her jump through some more hoops and see how long we can postpone payment! Don’t every buy Anchor General or get hit by someone that has this insurance, terrible company. Then [Redacted] was rude to me on the phone when I called to ask where the check is.

I was rear ended by one of their insurers on 10/8/17. I have a brand new car with 6200 miles on it when it was hit. A guy was driving the owners vehicle. They are saying they are not going to cover getting my bumper fixed. I told them they are the ones that hit me while stopped at a red light. I am filing a complaint with the state. I can not get anyone to call me back in regards to my claim. I have gone up to a supervisor and then his manager and still have not gotten a call back.

I have just found out what kind of a s— company Anchor General is. I was hit by someone that was covered by Anchor General Insurance and their guy comes out and takes a picture and say’s that’s not bad, looks like its under $1000.00. I told him that I had already got a estimate and the estimate was three thousand and some odd cents and I received a check for eight hundred and some odd dollar. I put the check in the bank but called them and informed them I was going to send the estimates ( i went out and got two more) all estimates were over three thousand. I have a feeling that I will have to send a complaint to the state. Why does the state let these companies get buy with this kind of crap?
I’m looking for new insurance after 14 years with the same company so I will be checking out the information listed above so thank you very much for all the information you have provided.

Useful review, as I am finding out who I am dealing with. In my case, trying to get a fair settlement, while they attempt to compare my vehicle with lesser valued vehicles. The 2005 case brought by the State Commissioner seemed to have a weak conclusion, with a lot of “We’ll talk to our people about that” responses to violations. Monitary compensation to claimants seemed to be small change—so they really got a small slap on the wrist which would just be encouragement to keep behaving poorly..
By reading comments about them that are more recent, they may be worse than before.